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Arctic War
The Arctic War is the war between the Empire and an unnamed northern tribe of horsemen warriors, and was considered to be one of the most devastating conflicts that the Empire has ever faced in its long history. This major war took place about 250 years prior to the JSDF arrival, or around 487 Imperial Calendar (mid-1700s). This difficult and turbulent period is generally known for the Battle of Akuteku, one of the greatest military defeats of the Empire’s history prior to the outbreak of the Japanese-Empire War. This war is also considered by the modern Empire's politicians as the best example in the imperial history that embodies the imperial policy to never surrender and submit to the enemy, regardless of the losses and humiliations. The imperial historians report that when the news of the army's total defeat reached the ears of the politicians of the time they never lamented their lost valour and pride and they haven’t agreed to negotiate for peace (which for them was as good as admitting defeat). They also reported that when the Empire's women learned of the death of 60 thousand soldiers during the battle of Akuteku they reacted by saying: "So what if we lost 60 thousand men?! We will birth that number in no time!", while rolling up their skirts for others to see (but probably this is just a story manipulated by imperial historians to put the Empire in a good light). It is believed that eventually, the Empire has won the war, although at a dire price. Legacy :"This war supposed to teach us that we are never invincible but we misinterpreted it and paid the dear price at the present." — Emperor Molt rectified the false belief of invincibility of the Arctic War after the Imperial Civil War, depicted in light novel Gate Gaiden Volume 1. The fact that the Empire was able to ultimately triumph over one of the most terrible enemies it had ever faced in all its history, despite all the adversities and devastating defeat suffered during the Battle of Akuteku, perpetuated the Imperial belief that they would never be defeated or successfully invaded by anyone, which remained an important aspect of the Empire's foreign policy until the very end of the Japanese-Empire War. The Empire's false belief of invincibility born after the Artic War was exploited and spread throughout the Empire and its neighboring kingdoms with the clear intention of achieving two goals: to win the favor of the imperial subjects and to produce in the mind of the Empire's future enemies the fear to attack. However this propaganda campaign had the side effect of bolstering the arrogance of the members of the imperial nobility and royal family, thus rendering them unable to weigh political reality and to recognize the strength of a clearly superior enemy like Japan. This belief was the root cause behind the unusual and unreasonable reluctance of the imperial ruling class, especially the Pro-war senators, to surrender to the overwhelmingly superior Japanese army during the devastating Japanese-Empire War. After the Imperial Civil War, the Empire abandoned this belief completely and some nobles, especially the Pro-peace senators, even stated that this belief of invincibility was the worst mistake the Empire had ever made. Category:Events